SALT LAKE CITY (Ticker) -- Steve Smith and Greg Anthony helped
their team avoid a complete collapse, nailing two big 3-pointers
in crunch time, as the Portland Trail Blazers held off the Utah
Jazz, 90-86.

In a clear statement game between a pair of Western Conference
contenders, the Trail Blazers appeared to shake off their
inconsistent play of late, racing out to a 16-point
third-quarter lead.

But in a microcosm of its last 20 games, Portland fell apart and
saw Utah forge ahead for the first time since the first quarter
when Karl Malone buried a 19-footer with 4:52 to play.

"That was a really hardfought game," Dunleavy said. "We has an
excellent first half, but, as we expected, they were tough and
they started making their run at us. I was pleased with how
poised we stayed down the stretch and that we executed and made
the plays we needed to to win."

The teams exhanged baskets for the next four minutes before
Smith gave Portland an 83-79 lead on a 23-footer with 52 seconds
to play. John Stockton responded with a pair of free throws for
Utah before Anthony connected from 26 feet to make it an 86-81
cushion with 22 seconds remaining.

Smith and Brian Grant scored 16 points apiece and Arvydas
Sabonis added 10 in 21 minutes off the bench in his first game
back for Portland after a nine-game absence due to an injured
foot.

"This was a big win for us because not only will we probably
face the Jazz in the playoffs, it also puts a little momentum on
our back for up-and-coming games," Grant said.

The Blazers denied the Jazz a chance at a third straight trip to
the NBA Finals last season, by knocking them off in the West
semifinals.

Damon Stoudamire scored 12 points and Rasheed Wallace added 11
for the Blazers, who snapped a three-game losing streak in Utah
and had lost 12 of their previous 13 visits to the Delta Center.

Portland had split its previous 20 games since having a
season-high 11-game win streak snapped by the leauge-leading Los
Angeles Lakers on February 29.

Malone had 29 points and 14 rebounds for the Jazz, who have lost
two straight and suffered just their second loss in 14 home
games. Utah slipped to 29-10 here overall and saw its lead in
the Midwest Division shrink to three games over San Antonio with
five games to play.

"We had to have almost a perfect finish and we didn't have a
perfect finish," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said, lamenting his
team's 36-point output in the first half. "We were playing
against a team that is very talented and they're not going to
give you easy baskets."

The Blazers shot 45 percent (31-of-69), lost the battle along
the boards, 38-30, but yielded just five points off turnovers.

Scottie Pippen managed just seven points on a dismal 2-of-10
shooting performance for Portland, which is safely locked into
the third seed in the West.

"This was a game we really needed," Pippen said. "We realized
that right now we're in a bit of a race between these two teams
trying to finish with the homecourt advantage. When you play
against a tough opponent like the Utah Jazz, they really bring
out the best in you."

Bryon Russell and John Stockton scored 18 points apiece and
Howard Eisley added 10 off the bench for Utah, which shot 42
percent (25-of-60) and appeared out of contention early before
getting hot in the third period.

Pippen's three-point play gave Portland a commanding 54-38 bulge
with less than 10 minutes left in the third quarter. But
Russell knocked down a 3-pointer and made a free throw, sparking
a 20-12 run that cut the deficit to eight heading into the final
period.

Russell and Greg Ostertag combined to make four free throws,
Eisley was good from 24 feet and Russell dunked as the Jazz cut
the deficit to 68-67 with 7:45 to play.

Smith hit a technical free throw before Malone forged a 69-69
tie on a pair from the line with six minutes remaining. Anthony
buried a 3-pointer, but Stockton hit two free throws and Malone
sank a long jumper with 4:52 left to put the Jazz ahead.

"We just played bad," Ostertag said. "And they took advantage
of that. We had to battle back and that's what hurt us."